The five songs that spent 10 weeks in the top 10 in 1971
The world wondered what John Lennon and Paul McCartney would do when the 1970s beckoned, but really, the question they should have asked was what did George Harrison have up his sleeve?
The so-called quiet Beatle perhaps felt the liberation of the break-up stronger than any other member of the band. For seven years prior, he had lived in the shadows of the two other songwriters, barely getting a look into the creative process. Even when he hit his stride in ‘69, delivering standout songs on Abbey Road, he still felt disillusioned with the great band and often plotted his own exit.
So the break-up was less about career exile for Harrison, so much as it was about rebirth. The ‘70s signalled a new era for music, and ultimately, Harrison had a chance to lead it. His seminal album All Things Must Pass featured songs written four years prior, from his time in the band, but performed with a spirit of creative liberation that would ultimately reflect the decade ahead.
The world had been set free from The Beatles’ influence and left to make it on their own, buoyed by the culture of innovation they fostered. 1971 was an emphatic representation of that, with Harrison’s record, along with many others, populating a chart list that now retrospectively looks like a greatest hits of all time record.
What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye, Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin, Blue by Joni Mitchell, Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones, Hunky Dory by David Bowie and Tapestry by Carole King all came out in that year alone, bathing music fans in a world of music they thought wouldn’t exist after The Beatles’ breakup.
But these were albums, long-form pieces of work that expanded the mind and enriched the soul. None of them quite perfected the art that Harrison had had a crash course in during the ‘60s: writing an album packed with chart-topping singles. That’s why his record All Things Must Pass didn’t just tap into the cultural zeitgeist of ‘71, but topped the singles charts too. The standout track, ‘My Sweet Lord’, hit the number one spot in January of that year and stayed in the mix for ten whole weeks.
What other songs spent ten weeks in the top ten in 1971?
Four more songs joined Harrison in the elite ten-week club, but none of them hit number one at the same time. Nevertheless, ten weeks isn’t to be sniffed at, especially in the case of T Rex, who managed to achieve the very same goal as Harrison, which was to deliver singles within an iconic record.
Their ‘71 album Electric Warrior is perhaps the definitive glam rock record, with many chart-topping candidates. But it was ‘Hot Love’ which stayed in the charts for ten whole weeks, after peaking at number five. And it was Rod Stewart, Tony Orlando and Dawn and Middle Of The Road who joined them with ‘Maggie May’, ‘Knock Three Times’, and ‘Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep’ respectively.
